Jagger/Richards
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The songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards (and occasionally Richards/Jagger) is a musical collaboration whose output is primarily part of the catalogue of their group, The Rolling Stones.
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[edit] History
Jagger and Richards have different recollections about their first songwriting endeavours, but both credit manager Andrew Loog Oldham as the catalyst for their collaboration. Richards says:
| “ | So what Andrew Oldham did was lock us up in the kitchen for a night and say, 'Don't come out without a song.' We sat around and came up with 'As Tears Go By'. It was unlike most Rolling Stones material, but that's what happens when you write songs, you immediately fly to some other realm. The weird thing is that Andrew found Marianne Faithfull at the same time, bunged it to her and it was a fuckin' hit for her - we were songwriters already! But it took the rest of that year to dare to write anything for the Stones.[1] | ” |
Jagger's version is:
| “ | Keith likes to tell the story about the kitchen, God bless him. I think Andrew may have said something at some point along the lines of 'I should lock you in a room until you've written a song' and in that way he did mentally lock us in a room, but he didn't literally lock us in. One of the first songs we came out with was that tune for George Bean, the very memorable 'It Should Be You'.[2] | ” |
The first original Jagger/Richards song to be released as the a-side of a Rolling Stones single was "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", from their debut album. Released as a single in the US only, peaked at number 24 on the charts there. The earlier "Good Times, Bad Times" had been released as the b-side to their cover of Bobby and Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now". The band's first UK single featuring an a-side Jagger/Richards original was "The Last Time"; released in February 1965, it went to number 1 in the UK and number 9 in the US.[3]
Although most Jagger/Richards compositions have been collaborations, some of the songs credited to the famous partnership have been basically solo songwriting from either Jagger (for example "Brown Sugar") or Richards ("Happy"). This is comparable to the Lennon/McCartney partnership, who also adhered to a tradition of joint credits even on numbers that were written by just one of the pair.
[edit] Co-credits
Jagger and Richards have shared credits with very few others. Among them are:
- Andrew Loog Oldham: "As Tears Go By"
- Marianne Faithfull: "Sister Morphine"
- Mick Taylor, former Rolling Stones guitarist: "Ventilator Blues" (Taylor has stated that he left the Rolling Stones partly due to not being given co-writing credits on some numbers.[4])
- Ronnie Wood, Rolling Stones guitarist: "Dance (Pt. 1)", "If I Was A Dancer (Dance Pt. 2)", "Everything Is Turning to Gold", "Black Limousine", "No Use in Crying", "Pretty Beat Up", "One Hit (to the Body)", "Fight", "Dirty Work" and "Had It With You". He is credited as "Inspiration by Ronnie Wood" on "It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)" and "Hey Negrita"
- Billy Preston is credited as "Inspiration by Billy Preston" on "Melody"
- Chuck Leavell, keyboardist: "Back to Zero"
- Steve Jordan: "Almost Hear You Sigh"
- k.d. lang and Ben Mink: "Anybody Seen My Baby?" (Lang and Mink were not involved with the composition of this number; they were given co-writing credits when, just prior to the song's release, one of the Rolling Stones' offspring pointed out a similarity to "Constant Craving," a hit from Lang's 1992 Ingénue album.)[citation needed]
- Pierre de Beauport: "Thief in the Night"
The Verve's 1997 hit single “Bitter Sweet Symphony” uses a small five-note sample from an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time.” After the song became a hit, The Verve was sued by Allen Klein, who owns the copyrights to The Rolling Stones' pre-1970 songs. Klein claimed The Verve broke their licence agreement when they used a larger portion than was covered in the license. The band handed over 100 percent of their songwriting royalties. They were then sued by Oldham, who claimed to possess the copyright on the sampled sound recording.[5] “Bittersweet Symphony” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Song category, which honours songwriters. Because the unfavourable settlement transferred the Verve’s copyright and songwriting credit to Klein and The Rolling Stones, the Grammy nomination went to “Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.”[6]
[edit] Jagger/Richards compositions released only by other artists
Some Jagger/Richards compositions have been released only by artists other than The Rolling Stones:[7]
- "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday", a January 1964 single by Gene Pitney
- "Will You Be My Lover Tonight"/"It Should Be You", a January 1964 single by George Bean
- "Shang a Doo Lang", a March 1964 single by Adrienne Poster
- "So Much in Love", an August 1964 single by The Mighty Avengers
- "Act Together", on Ronnie Wood's September 1974 LP I've Got My Own Album to Do
- "Sure the One You Need", on Wood's September 1974 LP I've Got My Own Album to Do and the associated July 1974 The First Barbarians: Live from Kilburn concert (released in October 2007); and on The New Barbarians' May 1979 concert album Buried Alive: Live in Maryland (released in October 2006).
[edit] List of Jagger/Richards songs released as Rolling Stones singles
These are the Jagger/Richards songs that have been released as Rolling Stones singles (both A-sides and B-sides):
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ McPherson, Ian. Jagger/Richards: Songwriters Part I. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Jagger, Mick; Richards, Keith; Watts, Charlie; Wood, Ronnie (2003). According to the Rolling Stones. Chronicle Books, pg. 84. ISBN 0-8118-4060-3.
- ^ Elliott, Martin (2002). The Rolling Stones: Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2002. Cherry Red Books, pg. 59-60. ISBN 1-901447-04-9.
- ^ James, Gary. Gary James' Interview With Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ "The Verve Sued Again over "Bitter Sweet Symphony"VH1, 11 January 1999
- ^ "Songwriters: Careful with those music samples!"Blogging Muses, August 11, 2006
- ^ Zentgraf, Nico. The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones 1962-2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ released as a benefit single to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina
- ^ actually a Jagger/Wood or Jagger/Richards/Wood composition, but attributed to Jagger/Richards - see According to the Rolling Stones (Jagger, Richards, Watts and Wood 2003, pages 162-164)
[edit] External links
- Rolling Stones Complete Official Discography
- http://www.timeisonourside.com/songwriting.html
- http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/the_rolling_stones/special_features/8652
